Poor Luigi - Flying Tires Struggle To Have Fun

Luigi's Flying Tires - Cars Land - DCA
Beach Balls Now Removed

As predicted by many, the Luigi's Flying Tires ride in the new Cars Land is experiencing growing pains. Over the last week or so, the colorful beach balls that were added to the ride when it opened in June were gradually removed. Now the beach balls are gone entirely.

The beach ball element was added as means in inject some energy into the slow moving and slow loading ride. Kids loved the beach balls but as kids have a tendency to do, tracking down a colorful ball of their very own became job one when boarding the ride. Strapping in and taking off were secondary so what was slow to begin with just got slower with the beach balls distracting attention from keeping the ride moving.

Luigi's Flying Tires with Beach Balls
The balls have now been removed from the ride.

And of course with people madly tossing large plastic balls around there were a few "incidents" according to Disney as getting unexpectedly whacked in the head led to some minor injuries and complaints here and there.

So the balls are now gone. Disney is looking at alternate ways in bring energy to the attraction starting with removal of some weight from the underside of the tires for a joy stick controller that was never implemented which, in theory, should make the ride move a little faster. Other things are being discussed as well. No one yet has said this ride is a complete failure but that certainly remains a possibility.

MiceChat's Dateline Disney (link here) posted this video this morning. Keep in mind before this ride ever takes off, guests will likely have been waiting 60 minutes or more to get on. And this is what you get:

Raining On The Radiator Springs Racers Parade

Radiator Springs Racers - An L.A. Times Photo

Imagine, if you will, that you planned a couple of days at the Disneyland Resort - say last Thursday and Friday for instance. Suppose your planned trip down there was primarily to experience the highly publicized Cars Land and all it has to offer. Suppose you are not a Southern California local and your trip involved the cost of an airplane flight and the booking of a hotel room. A little trip like that would not be inexpensive.

Now suppose you get over to Cars Land and found out that Radiators Springs Racers had just shut down and they don't know when the giant attraction will reopen (though you could be getting different information depending the case member you spoke with). Suppose it never reopens in the 2 days you are at the park. It just happened. For the most part, Radiator Springs Racers was down for the count last Thursday and Friday. A freak Southern California summer rain storm didn't help and as a sudden power outage shut down several attractions in Disney California Adventure. But the Racers was the one ride that wouldn't come back up to normal operation the way it should.

Outages on Radiator Springs Racers have been common since the ride opened less than a month ago with some outages being relatively short and others being several hours. But an outage of almost two days? Not good.

The Disneyland veterans and frequent visitors to the park over on MiceAge cut the ride some slack the first couple of weeks saying that new rides frequently have break downs while thay get dialed into regular operation. They point to the problems Indiana Jones had when it first began taking on passengers. But now you begin to sense the forgiveness sentiment is turning as problems with the Racers continue on a fairly regular basis. They forum posters are starting to let their frustration and displeasure come out. Was the ride really ready for prime time summer operation? Some still are in the forgiving mode saying the ride is new and give Disney a chance to continue to work out the bugs but Disney veterans question why should there even be bugs at this point since the ride is base on existing technology (EPCOT's Test Track attraction) that has been in operation for years.

One thing is for sure, Disney does not make any guarantees when it comes to ride operation. They have a way out when a big ride shuts down unexpectedly. But what about the guests who had their lofty plans to come down and enjoy the wonders of Cars Lands at Disney's invitation through its massive media campaign? Well....sorry about that, there's plenty more to do Disney will say. For some people, they are not going to feel any better.

Cars Land Opens - Dude, You're Stepping On My Toe

Cars Land Opening Day - Morning
A Fishbulb MiceChat Inside the Parks Photo

What could you do with six hours of your life? I'll answer that question shortly. So yesterday Disney California Adventure, with pomp and circumstance, re-opened to the public. Yes, the walls were all down and Buena Vista Street and Cars Land were finally opened to thousands of eager Disney fans, many of whom waited all night to get in. For most of those people, Buena Vista Street is a place to pass by on your way to Cars Land. Yes, Cars Land was the place to be yesterday for seemingly everyone in DCA. The rest of the park was busy, but manageable. Cars Land was a mad house and will be that way for awhile, especially for the next week or so. 

How bad was it? Well, as anticipated, the lines for the two smaller rides - the controversial Luigi's Flying Tires and the surprisingly fun Mater's Junkyard Jamboree almost immediately jumped into the 90 minute wait time category. 90 minutes for rides that are less than 2 minutes long? That's nothing.

Yesterday it was all about the public (and I would be willing to bet that the majority of these people are annual pass holders) getting their chance to get on Radiator Springs Racers. By reports, within 15 minutes of park opening, the stand-by line to get on was 3 hrs. MousePlanet reported that fast passes for the entire day were completely distributed by 9:55 am. No more - the machines were closed. About 20 minutes after the ride opened, it had to be temporally shut down, and people continued to line up with a line that extended back to the Paradise Pier bridge. How long was that line? I saw estimates that it was five and a half to six hours long! What could you do with six hours of your line standing life back? I read a post from someone that they could hop on a plane, fly the 3000 miles to Orlando, take the bus to WDW, check into a hotel, go over to EPCOT, and get on Soarin' in about six hours. A bit of a stretch but not a big one.

Later in the day and through the evening, the stand-by wait time posted 240 minute wait times - about 4 hours. According to MousePlanet, the wait time of 240 minutes was still posted when DCA closed at 11:00 pm. As Disney practice, if you are standing in line for a ride when the park closes, you get on. I guess that means the ride finally shut down for the night about 3:00 am. There might have been some overtime for cast members here.

It will be interesting to see how the crowds progress through the summer. I'm keeping my distance for now. My feet hurt bad enough from walking on a trip to Disneyland. I don't need my toes stepped on as well.

Early Votes Are In - Cars Land Is A Hit

You know when you watch election returns on TV (do people still do that?) and as soon as the polls close a whole bunch of votes come in from the already counted absentee ballots of people who voted early? Well, the early votes are in on Cars Land and I think we have a pretty clear winner. The place is a hit though not without faults (like most politicians).

The Clear Winners

Radiator Springs Racers - One of the best attractions ever built by Disney. Fully immersed in theming and fun for the whole family, RSR delivers in a big way. The only complaints I read about were those who wished there were more indoor dark rides scenes or thought maybe the car was just a little too quick going by them. 

Cars Land at Night - Dripping with multi-colored neon with the flood-lit Cadillac Mountain Range in the background, the place looks absolutely stunning at night. It will be an absolute DCA must to catch the moment of the day when they turn the lights on with "Sha-Boom, Sha-Boom, Life Can Be a Dream" playing in the background.

Positive Plusses

Flo's V8 Cafe - The new counter service restaurant is large and spacious with indoor and outdoor seating. Most have commented how much they have enjoyed the main course entrees (beef, turkey, or pork) and really like the apple - cheddar pie. Flo's also serves breakfast though I saw a few negative comments with the breakfast offerings, the most common being what was supposed to be a hot meal came out a little cold. Any DCA restaurant that will serve Racer 5 IPA on tap is OK in The Disneyland Traveler's book. 

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - This little ride has proved to be quite enjoyable for people of all ages and provides a pretty good jolt of fun as it whips you around. It's a keeper. Not a fast loading ride though. There will be an always present fairly long line.

Cars Land Exclusive Merchandise - The merchandise being sold that is exclusive to the Cars Land area was flying off the shelves. It was being purchased so fast in fact that Disney had to pull some of the hot sellers back in order to have stock for the opening this weekend.

Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Luigi's Flying Tires - This was supposed to be the successful return of the Tomorrowland's Flying Saucers attraction of the 1960's. Well that ride had to be taken out after only about 5 years of operation. It was extremely slow loading and required a large operational and mechanical staff to keep it running. Guess what? Luigi may face the exact same problems. Only about 400 people an hour can ride the 90 second ride. It requires a staff of cast members to be on hand to tell people how to operate the thing and the tires get stuck in corners requiring cast members to dangerously go out and physically push the stuck vehicles. Those who get the hang of operating the ride kind of like it, but the operational overhead may just not be worth it. Most complain the queue line moves excruciatingly slow but has nice theming. Unless the wait is 30 minutes or less, it just doesn't seem to be worth it and once it goes into full operation this weekend, it will NEVER be less than a 30 minutes wait. Trouble.

Cozy Corn Motel Food Stands - Looks nice and may still work out OK but having 5 separate cones each selling a different food item and specialty drink has proved to be a problem with the large number of guests in Cars Land. Lines to get the food, even something as simple as popcorn or churros, move extremely slow and then there is the problem of what to do when members of your traveling party can't agree what food items to get. Jumping from cone to cone for different food items proved to be impossible. Once you pick a cone, you are pretty much committed to what that cone has to offer because the wait could be a half hour or more. Ugh!

This Could Be Bad

It's Hot In Here - MiceAge started a thread with some people complaining about the lack of shade, the high numbers of people, and the absorption of heat. Getting overheated is never a good thing. Inside at Flo's enjoying a Racer 5 might be a popular past time.

First Video Look - Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

Here is the fist video look of Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in full swing so to speak. This video was created by MiceChat's Dateline Disneyland. By most accounts, this little ride is surprisingly a lot of fun (if you can get by the rather hick-like music). Even those who can't do a ride like Tea Cups because of motion sickness are saying this ride, while it does have a bit of kick when the trailer whips out, is not affecting them in an adverse way. (i.e. "I need to sit down. I think I'm ready to toss up lunch").

This might be the little gem of Cars Land. For me, still depends on how long the wait is to get on.

  

First Video Look - Luigi's Flying Tires

Here is the first video look of Luigi's Flying Tires in Cars Land. The video was shot yesterday and uploaded by MiceChat. Personal opinion. Ponderous and slow, this is primarily a ride children might enjoy. Adults and parents might be bored to tears. The beach balls were added as an afterthought since test riders once in the floating tires, didn't know quite what to do to have some fun with the ride.

As previously discussed, this might be the slowest loading ride in either Disneyland or DCA (it's debatable but Peter Pan's Flight and Dumbo currently run neck and neck for the slowest rides to load guests). It is estimated that Luigi's line might extend an hour or more over the summer and the ride is only about 90 seconds long. Maybe if its a walk-on with a very slow day in mid-winter the Disneyland Traveler may have to give this ride experience a pass by - just not worth any kind of wait.

First Video Posted Of Radiator Springs Racers - Full Ride Through

Radiator Springs Racers - Official Disney Photo

And just like that we have the first full Radiator Springs Racers complete ride-thru video this one coming from wdwinfo.com and posted to MiceChat. Disney kept photos and videos of Cars Land at bay as long as they could but with Annual Passholders paying anywhere from $75 to $500 for an early admittance and a few hours in Cars Land (benefiting Children's Hospital of Orange County) I guess they thought best to lift the photo and video restrictions that were in place for the Cast Members preview days last week.

Get ready for a very long wait to get on this ride - the best Disneyland attraction probably since Indiana Jones Adventure.

** Update **
I've added a second video that was posted to YouTube shortly after the first. The first video is from the left side track and the second is from the right side track. There is a slight difference between the two tracks inside the show building. The left side passes through Luigi's Tire Shop before entering the race track and the right passes through Ramone's Body Shop. I think the first video is better overall but the second video does a better job filming the interior show scenes.

Enjoy the ride (mega spoiler alert).

More Cars Land Photos and a New Video

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Does it show? Can you tell? I'm a little tired of writing things about Cars Land. I'm officially Cars Land out. But yet there is still another week or so to go. So while I grow a bit tired of all the hype, the chronicler of all things Disney related that I am and really what this blog is all about, continues on. Fortunately with this post, I don't have to do a lot of writing about Cars Land. Disney released another series of photographs by their Disneyland park photographer Paul Hiffmeyer that are just spectacular and gives us the best look yet at the place that is still behind construction walls until later this week.

Also, at the end of this post is a video that Disney showed during its ABC coverage of the Indianapolis 500 pre-race program a few weeks ago where Cars (the movies) and Cars Land chief creator and visionary John Lasseter along with sports broadcaster Brent Musburger, gives one of the best looks yet at Cars Land through video.

Disneyland photographer Paul Hiffmeyer shows us Radiator Springs Racers including the first photographs of the interior of the ride's show building.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Over to the controversial Luigi's Flying Tires. Potentially the slowest loading ride in either park with one of the longest lines.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

And finally a look at Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in action. Reports are kind of surprising that this little ride is actually quite fun.

Cars Land - Official Disney Photography

Being a car racing fan, I watched this video when it first appeared a few weeks ago during the Indianapolis 500 broadcast. I was hoping Disney was going to post it and they finally did yesterday. Do you think John Lasseter is a bit enthusiastic about his new "land"?

I am sure there are more pictures and videos to come.

What If Cars Land Isn't All That It Is Cracked Up To Be?

With the latest price increase, Disney is banking on the success of Cars Land, the true cornerstone of the Disney California Adventure relaunch. Buena Vista Street is fine, beautiful in fact, but in the end it's mostly a series of wonderful facades covering shops and places to eat. It's Cars Land that is the place of purposeful destination in visiting DCA the rest of this year.

The place looks spectacular but here's the rub as they say. So does ToonTown over in Disneyland, but as soon as you strip down ToonTown's charming exterior, there's not much there. ToonTown has one great ride with Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin and so Cars Land has its big attraction with Radiator Springs Racers. Now I'm not about to compare the two attractions since RCR will most like be fantastic but for Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and myself, Roger Rabbit is the only reason we ever step foot into ToonTown these days. Some trips, we skip the place completely.

Will RCR be the only reason for us to set foot into Cars Land? That remains to be seen. Cars Land does have a large dining facility with Flo's V8 Cafe that ToonTown does not have (and probably could use). That may be something to draw us in as well as the ride but the rest of it? I'm thinking there's not a lot there to provide us interest. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree appears to be mostly a ride for children. The problems with Luigi's Flying Tires is well documented thanks to Al Lutz of MiceAge.com. Suffice is to say, there is no way I'm waiting an hour or more to get on a two minute ride that requires a learning curve to operate properly. There's a quick snack area and the rest of Cars Land is shops.

Here is my prediction for myself anyway. First time we go to Cars Land, we'll soak the place in both day and night since it does look amazing at night. Hopefully, we'll ride Radiator Springs Racers, eat at Flo's, sample of the snacks available from the Cozy Cones, and pass through the shops. We'll snap tons of pictures and have video up the ying-yang. But after that?

I can say that as older people like us, Cars Land may not be a very big draw unless RCR is one of those must-do, can't be missed attractions. And even then, I'm not a really big ride guy anymore. I don't do all the Disneyland Mountains on every trip, I don't need to. So in the end, there is a distinct possibility Cars Land isn't "the place to go" when we are in DCA. It may not be all that it is cracked up to be. It may be just another ToonTown.

Cars Land and a Tale of 3 Rides

Cars Land Artwork from Disney Parks Blog

There is the old saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.  This saying has far ranging application from us as individuals to governments to theme parks.

Cars Land is now less than 30 days from its grand opening. Disney fans are chomping at the bit to get in and get a look ignoring the cautions being thrown out that the demand to get into the place may exceed its physical ability to fit everyone.  As I’ve said before, I’m in no hurry to stand in a long line. A quiet Tuesday in mid-November may seem like a nice time to pay the place a visit.

The pictures of Cars Land look spectacular especially at nighttime when its oozing with brightly colored neon lights. They really did recreate the town of Radiator Springs from the Cars movies. I’m still not convinced that theming a large piece of real estate after a movie is the best thing to do but the verdict is still out. Will the popularity of the Cars movies sustain through the decades? Hard to tell. Look at ToonTown or A Bug’s Land both themed after movies that few people ever watch anymore. What is now Cars Land was originally conceived as a land based on the old mythical Route 66 and the wide open spaces of the desert Southwest. I would have preferred that it be kept that way but apparently that isn’t the most marketable way to introduce a new land. This is all about money and consumer products based on the Cars movies that sell in incredible numbers.

So Cars Land now comes down to a charming main drag with a large counter service restaurant (Flo’s V8 Café), a quick snack area (Cozy Cones), a couple of places to buy stuff, and 3 rides. It’s the rides that I’m taking a look at here.

Radiator Springs Racers Artwork
Disney Parks Blog

Radiator Springs Racers is a slam dunk E-Ticket attraction that covers an astounding 6 acres of land and is based on the highly successful Test Track ride in WDW’s EPCOT. But RCR offers some features that Test Track does not have which is primarily an undulating track which shows off slight elevation changes. This ride would be a success whether or not the movie Cars ever existed. Quite frankly, I’d prefer my Radiator Springs Racer car to not have a face painted on it. But this is going to be a winner for Disney and DCA for years to come.

Mater's Junkyar Jamboree Artwork
Disney Parks Blog

Meter’s Junkyard Jamboree is a big step down from RCR but hey, you need something for the little kids to have some fun in and getting gently flung about in a trailer behind a tractor seems like a nice way to go. Reminds me of kind of like a tea cup ride. Sure it’s a C-Ticket attraction at best but the park needs those as well. I just hope to heaven the voice of Larry the Cable Guy doesn’t blare at you constantly. That voice is like fingernails across a blackboard to me.

Luigi's Flying Tires Artwork
Disney Parks Blog

And finally we are back to our story about history that began this post. The third attraction Luigi’s Flying Tires. On the surface of it, it’s a great idea for an attraction as giant tires which serve as ride vehicles move about on thousands of air jets just like an air hockey puck – yes, it’s a hover craft. But didn’t Disneyland have hover crafts in the form of flying saucers a long time ago? Why yes they did. The original flying saucers attraction ran in Tomorrowland from 1961 to 1966 but did not make it when Tomorrowland was refurbished in 1967. The old flying saucers attraction used to be where the Magic Eye Theater (Captain EO) now sits. The flying saucers attraction failed because of high upkeep and maintenance costs and the fact that it was a slow loader which only a relatively small number of park guests were able to enjoy in the course of day.

Guess what they are saying about Luigi’s Flying Tires before the ride officially opens? It is tremendously slow loading. The ride vehicles are difficult maneuver without practice and experience and one you do get it figured out a little bit on how to get around, what do you actually do? The original flying saucers failed as a ride attraction. Why Disney thought they could make the almost identical ride succeed 40 years later is anyone’s guess? Luigi could have problems, trouble, and controversy written all over it. Will it survive 5, 10, 15 years? I have my doubts. So do others.

Do I expect to spend a lot of time in Cars Land as the years wear on and the novelty wears off? Only as a means to get to the Radiator Springs Racers I would guess just like Roger Rabbit is my only reason for setting foot in ToonTown. Kind of the same deal.

 

Cars Land at Night - 30 Amazing Seconds

The video below is only 30 seconds long and was shown in ABC's Modern Family Disneyland episode last night. The Mater voice drives me up a wall but the spectacular video of Cars Land lit up at night more than makes up for it. This place is going to be amazing. This place is going to be CROWDED.

A Closer Look At - Mickey's Fun Wheel

Mickey's Fun Wheel is a Ferris Wheel in Disney California Adventure's Paradise Pier section. As most people know its huge, dominates the landscape, and looks spectacular at night when its all lit up.  I never went on the ride in its previous incarnation as the Sun Wheel but since the makeover to Mickey's Fun Wheel a few years ago I've been on it two or three times.  For the longest time, I avoided the thing.  You see, I'm afraid of heights, I'm afraid of Ferris Wheels, I'm a afraid of things that have you dangling in the air where escape can only be achieved through help by firemen.  Not for me.

Others in my family have braver souls than I as even the 4 year-old family members would venture on the swinging buckets of the Sun Wheel / Fun Wheel.  After years trying, my sister finally got me on the non-swinging side of the ride and you know what? I kind of liked it.  For every two swinging cages, there is a fixed non-swinging cage and as long as I remember to get into the right line and in the non-swinging side, I think I'm good to go - even if its by myself.

Mrs. DisneylandTraveler has not conquered her fear of heights, Ferris Wheels, and rides that move slowly at dizzying heights so when we make our trips to Disneyland just ourselves, I now have to make the quiet, breezy trip around and above DCA alone while she whips out her charge card in the souvenir shops conveniently located across from Mickey's Fun Wheel entrance.  She hates Mickey's Fun Wheel, I dislike shopping in souvenir stores.  We have fun.

Below is a quick little video of Mickey's Fun Wheel, no barf bag required 

Radiator Springs Racers: 30 Seconds of a Cool Ride

They keep teasing us, and teasing us but last week Disney posted a short video to YouTube of a ride on their new Radiator Springs Racers. The video is only 30 seconds long but this is promising to be one cool ride and sure to bring people into Disney California Adventure by truckloads for a long time to come.

The Latest DCA Promotional Video

A Look Down the Cars Land Main Drag - From Disney Parks Blog

Unlike their counterparts over at Walt Disney Studios, the Disney Parks people know a thing or two about marketing.  They even know how to wonderfully market something that needs very little marketing at all.  Take look at Disney's latest YouTube video promoting the relaunch of Disney California Adventure now officially dated as June 15, 2012.  Outstanding.

And The Mickey Goes To.... (2012)

We are smack in the middle of award season culminating with the Academy Awards sometime in March (not sure when, I seldom watch the show and if I do, it's probably because Mrs DisneylandTraveler made me).  I think Woody Allen used a variation of the following line many years ago in his great film Annie Hall "I can't believe it, they give an award for everything....".  The Disneyland Traveler is no different as I pass out my Mickey awards for 2012 that looks back at The Disneyland Resort in 2011 (note: in my world, you can win the award over and over again). So here we go with some fun.

Best Disneyland Resort Table Service Restaurant (inside the park)....and the Mickey goes to ... The Blue Bayou.  Yeah... the meal is expensive, especially at dinner, and the food may not justify the price, but the Blue Bayou is all about the setting.

Best Multi-Media Show ... and the Mickey goes to .... Fantasmic (beating out World of Color and A Christmas Fantasy Parade)

Best Cup of Coffee in park....  and the Mickey goes to .... The Market House (there isn't even a close second).

Best Dark Ride.... and the Mickey goes to.... Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin.

Best Interactive Ride Where Points Are Awarded .... and the Mickey goes to.... Toy Story Mania (too bad the wait is so long that you can't really play over and over again)

Best Sweet Treat ... and the Mickey goes to...  Dole Pineapple Whip (or Float)

Best Food That Comes Out Of A Cart... and the Mickey goes to... The Chocolate Covered Banana

Best Food Item Less Than 5 bucks... and the Mickey goes to... Safari Skewer (bacon wrapped asparagus) from Bengal BBQ

Best Animatronic.... and the Mickey goes to... Abraham Lincoln (watch the hand movements amazing).

Best Cast Member Uniform (Outfit The Disneyland Traveler Would Be Least Embarrassed to Wear.... and the Mickey goes to.... the Soarin' Over California jumpsuit

Best Show with Live Performers.... and the Mickey goes to.... Billy Hill and the Hillbillies

Best Beer Served in DCA... and the Mickey Goes to.... Karl Straus Red Trolley Ale

Best Counter Service Restaurant (Cafeteria Style).... and the Mickey goes to... The French Market

Best Counter Service Restaurant (Walk Up Window Style).... and the Mickey goes to... Cocina Cucamonga... (tough vote in this category but the chicken tamales are really good and you can get a beer to wash them down with....)

Best Counter Service Restaurant That Only Serves One Food Item....  and the Mickey goes to.... Corn Dog from The Red Wagon... ( I had to sneak a Disneyland corn dog in here somewhere)

Best World of Color Dining Package... and the Mickey goes to... Ariel's Grotto - dinner package

The Kurt Russsell Achievement Award for an Actor Who Shows Up In Disney Movies Over and Over Again.....and the special award goes to.... Johnny Depp.

Best In Park Retail Store.... and the Mickey goes to...  Off The Page

Best New Attraction Opened in 2011.... and the Mickey goes to.... Star Tours.... (yeah, a remake of an existing attraction but its changed enough to consider it all new.... I haven't been on it but all those people who rave about it can't be wrong).

Best Ride That's a 1955 Park Opening Original.... and the Mickey goes to....  The Jungle Cruise

Best Ride That Represents the Creative Genius of Walt Disney... and the Mickey goes to... Pirates of the Caribbean

Special Disneyland Lifetime Achievement Award....a tip of the scorcer's hat and the special award goes to Chef Oscar at the Carnation Cafe... 56 years and still going strong (and still doesn't know when he's going to retire).

Best TV Show On A Disney Owned Network... and the Mickey goes to.... PTI (Pardon the Interruption) ESPN (thanks Tony and Mike for all the entertainment)

Best Restaurant Downtown Disney... and the Mickey goes to... Naples (pizza to die for).

Best Downtown Disney Quick Snack Food... and the Mickey goes to.... Beignets - Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Express

Best Disney Movie of 2011... and the Mickey goes to... Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (slim pickings in 2011 and I haven't seen The Muppets.  I reserve the right to change my vote later).

Best Themed Ride (Disneyland)... and the Mickey goes to...  The Haunted Mansion

Best Themed Ride (DCA)... and the Mickey goes to.... The Hollywood Tower of Terror

Best Ride in Either Park (Ride of the Year)... and the Mickey goes to... Pirates of the Caribbean

Best Park Character.... and the Mickey goes to.... Mickey Mouse, of course

******

Check back on Monday when I post my 2012 Irate Donald Awards for the worst of the Disneyland Resort in 2011.  I would have posted those awards first but then I would be accused of being negative and a curmudgeon (both of which are true).

Cars Land Gets Its Opening Day

Cars Land Enhanced Publicity Artwork - Disney Parks Blog

According to MiceAge's Al Lutz, Disney has its target opening day for Cars Land and the relaunch of the much improved Disney California Adventure as June 15 (with a media day scheduled for June 14). This should also include most of Buena Vista Street though it seems completion of that area of the park by June 15th is a little more problematical.  Helped by a dry California winter and unseasonably warm temperatures, DCA construction projects have been motoring on at a very high rate of speed.

This summer is going to be absolutely huge for the Disneyland Resort - perhaps record breaking. The economy seems to be picking up, the publicity machine for DCA and Cars Land is most impressive, and it seems that most Disney fans can't wait.  Well, this one can for a bit.  So beginning June 15 I can begin to work on my dream of having a nickel for every time a variation of the following line is uttered within the confines the Disneyland Resort - "Man, it's crowded in here".

So the cynical side of me is also beginning to think about a basic law of economics - supply and demand.  For the DCA relaunch the demand to get into the place will probably exceed the physical space available for quite awhile.  Ka-Ching!  Around April or May seems to be about a perfect time to up the admission and annual passholder prices.  Not fair you say? Sure it is, it's the corporate America way.

Back to that Radiator Springs Racers poster at the top of this post - I still prefer my cars not to have faces on them.  I'm still trying the get the stench of wasting two hours of my life watching Cars 2.  The movie was so bad (except the visual aspects of it) that Pixar should probably be ashamed of itself for releasing a piece of garbage like that.  This is the same company that has given up Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 (all academy award winners) the last 3 years.  Cars 2 couldn't sniff an academy award if it tried.  So now Disney has a land dedicated to the Cars franchise.  Oh, it will be successful, but can it be sustainable 5, 10, 15 years into the future?  Fortunately (strange choice of words here), one of the downfalls of the movie Cars 2 was its lack of time actually spent in the charming desert town of Radiator Springs.  Now, Disney has built a remarkable replica of Radiator Springs the town right inside of DCA.  The rest of the Cars 2 mess - too much of a silly hick named Larry the Cable Guy, not enough Owen Wilson and the rest of characters, and Paul Newman died.

Paul Newman was the heart and soul of the first Cars movie.  My hope for the new Cars Land midst its slick commercialism and mass merchandising is Disney somehow honors the memory of Doc Hudson (the Paul Newman character).  DCA, Cars Land, is going to be a zoo this summer, hopefully there is a little bit of heart.

This Is Only A (Cars Land) Test...

Radiator Springs Racer Testing - A Disney Parks Photo

During December, Disney Parks Blog posted to YouTube videos of testing 2 of the 3 rides that will  be the  cornerstone of Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park - Luigi's Flying Tires and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. These are the two "minor" attractions with the main attraction being the massive Radiator Springs Racers. I guess I wanted to capture these two videos here because if someone ask me about what rides will be in Cars Land, I can point them to this blog post quickly for a sneak peek.

The first video features Luigi's Flying Tires with the Cars (and Toy Story and Pixar) man himself John Lasseter in the driver's seat.

The second video shows Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.....

Now I can't seem myself on either of these two rides as from appearances, they appear for a younger crowd (and their parents) but who knows? Maybe three years from now on a quiet off season day when the line makes these slow loading rides close to walk-ons, I may give them a try.

A Vicarious DCA Moment Through Texting

Remember when (and I'm talking only about 10 or 15 years ago) you couldn't wait to get back home from a trip to Disneyland to share your fun, memories, and experiences with your friends and family members. You brought back pictures (once they were developed), maybe some home videos, and assorted park souvenirs to share your adventures in Disneyland with others.

I'm sitting here at home last Sunday night watching The Simpsons and my cell phone makes its little sound when it gets text message. It was from my niece and her daughter "We're just got in line for the Tower of Terror and were just thinking of you". It was my niece who first got me to go on the TOT several years ago when every instinct in me said "No way man....". We had a great fall down the elevator shaft, screaming and laughing all the way. Anyway, I checked MouseWaits on my phone told her the wait time was 38 minutes and to "have a nice scream". So here I am, 434 miles away, and living my normal life when I get to share vicariously a Disneyland moment with my niece and her daughter. Nice.

Heck, when my friend Mike went to Disneyland back in September, he would text me back pictures at work of him just standing in line. I told him to. I haven't figured out if asking to text you back pictures of you standing in line for a ride is some kind of sickness or not.

A Bug's Land Christmas

I've said it before in this blog and I'll say it again - it irks me to no end when a read in Disneyland discussion boards, forums, and blogs how they need to get rid of A Bug's Land and put in something better. When people post things like this what they usually mean is "I'm too old for anything in A Bug's Land to interest me - put in something that I might actually want to go on". Me, me, me.... it's the same old story. Stop it. A Bug's Land is fine for what it is and now that it's Christmas time the little land for small fries becomes even more charming as everyone gets reduced to "bug size" with all the oversized Christmas decorations. So forget about yourselves and for a few minutes to walk through A Bug's Land this Christmas season and look at the smiles and the joy of those who are just becoming familiar with the world around them. It's a land of sweetness and charm and occupies such a small space that it shouldn't cause anyone any grief and might actually bring some joy.

Remembering Roller Coaster Tycoon

Do you remember the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon that was quite popular a few years back?  It was a game that gave everyone a chance to be a Walt Disney Imgineer and build their own theme parks.  Of course if you were a Disneyland fan, you always wanted to build your park with Disneyland as your template and try to outdo what Walt did even though the game was built more with the generic "Six Flags" theming rather than the copyrighted and patented (i.e. expensive) Disney theming.  Anyway, the first two versions of Roller Coaster Tycoon where quite fun and charming.  By the time they got to the the more complex and graphics intensive third version of the game, it seemed to have lost much of its charm. Funny how that happens.

Anyway, I bring the game up because there was a thread on the MousePlanet discussion board about just how terror inducing was Mickey's Fun Wheel, in particular the swing cars. It got me to think about my first trip on MFW a few years ago.  I avoided the ride for years because I do have a fear of heights and carnival type ferris wheels.  My sister finally talked me into going on it - just stay away from the swing cars and get on the fixed car side of the ride.  I did and surprisingly, really enjoyed my 3 spins around.  But while standing in line for the ride on a subsequent trip I glanced over at the car loading area and saw a custodial cast member apparently doing some clean up on the bottom of one of the non-swinging cars (pictured above).  Word was quickly passed through the line of guests waiting to get on that someone had deposited a rather large "mess" (i.e barfed) on the bottom of the car.  Even more surprising was the CM was in the car cleaning the residual so fast, the ride barely skipped a beat.  One can only assume that this happens quite often and someone from the custodial staff is always near the ride.

So what does this have to do with the Roller Coaster Tycoon computer game?  Anyone who ever played the games knew that you needed a small army of custodial workers built up as soon as you could afford to pay them.  Without them, the walkways became littered with little puddles of vomit near terror inducing rides.  As the number of puddles grew, the guests would begin complaining and your park rating would go down.

Now neither Disneyland or DCA have a plethora of vomit inducing coasters or thrill rides fortunately.  Mickey's Fun Wheel, though neither a coaster or a true "thrill" ride, may come the closest though some people have issues with the Tower of Terror, Californial Sceamin', Space Mountain, and the Tea Cups of all things.  But fortunately, Disneyland does have an army of custodial workers scouring the premises for any "deposits" one may accidently heave up.